


The Star Sanses Studios Christmas Party!

by ShandyCandy278



Series: Star Sanses Studios AU [2]
Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: AND IT IS, Best, Brotherly Bonding, But Edge knows him too well, Cross this isn't how you impress someone, Drinking, Edge is done, Error you sly skele, Ever - Freeform, Family Fighting, Fluff, Geno is an idiot, Geno nO, Gift, Heck Yeah this is happening, LOVE YA LY, M/M, Maybe some angst, Merry Christmas, Nightmare was being a jerk anyway, Poor Blue, Poor Ink, Possessive Geno, SSS AU HAS A CPAU IN IT, Sans is done, Sci is an Idiot, Sci is sly too, The only canon relationship here is SciFell, Thing - Freeform, but like, oh well, spiked egg nog, that doesn't mean we can't have fluff, the, yes - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-25
Updated: 2020-02-26
Packaged: 2021-02-26 20:47:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,294
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21944986
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShandyCandy278/pseuds/ShandyCandy278
Summary: It's Christmas time, and everyone has been invited to the Studio to celebrate their first Christmas with it! Come watch as these lovable idiots interact and maybe take over the world. XD
Relationships: SciFell- Relationship
Series: Star Sanses Studios AU [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1580083
Comments: 27
Kudos: 63





	1. And So It Begins

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Ly_the_creator](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ly_the_creator/gifts).



> MERRY CHRISTMAS, LY! :D
> 
> Yes, I decided to do this. I told you that I was writing it, did I not? XD
> 
> For everyone else, HAPPY HOLIDAYS/HANUKKA/CHRISTMAS/WHATEVER YOU CELEBRATE! :D
> 
> This is a combination of the Star Sanses Studio (SSS) AU and CQ's Christmas Party AU (CPAU).
> 
> Please read 'Welcome to Star Sanses Studios!' and the CPAU comic before reading, and if you already have read them, I hope you enjoy!

“Edge, babe, are you sure about this?”

“‘Bout what?” His boyfriend asked, grumbling as they waited for the light to turn green. They had gotten together a few months ago- Edge had lived with the Sans and Papyrus (who lived next door) before that, and currently, he was living with Sci. 

It had been an attempt to get over his crush on Sci’s part- he hadn’t felt like that towards anyone in a  _ long _ time, and it scared the crap out of him when he realized just how far and fast he had been falling for Edge. He had talked to Sans and Papyrus about it and convinced them to take Edge in for the time being, but then some things happened, and then they got together, so now they were living together.

But that didn't quite matter right now, he had things to do at home and he was going to try to talk his way out of this.

“I don’t know a lot of the people who are coming to this,” Sci admitted, fiddling with his hands a little. “At most, I only know yo-.”

“Sci, I swear to heaven on high, if you’re tryin’ ta talk me outta goin’ so that you can go back home and try ta study the effects that Perseverance has on the soul instead of havin’ fun, I’m gonna shove one o’ Blue’s Christmas Cookies into your mouth ta get ya ta shut up.” Sci opened his mouth, but Edge continued. “An’ don’ try ta fool me, I know the difference between ‘I am nervous’ and ‘I’m talkin’ my way out o’ this’. Not ta mention that I also know when you’re uncomfortable, and I can tell ya right now, you are gonna be just fine.”

Internally pouting at his foiled plan, he leaned forward and wiggled his browbones with a smirk. 

“Are you sure you don’t want to use something else~?” He asked.

“Well-” Edge winked at him as the car started moving, his eyes only leaving the road for a second. “I  _ could _ , but I’m savin’ that for later.”

“Later?” Sci inquired, curious.

“Mmm, only if you’re good.” Edge chuckled, giving Sci a sly look that made him melt. He could feel the heat rise to his cheekbones and highlight them in his green magic, and he looked away. He didn't have anything right off the bat yet. He’d have to think of a good plan for revenge later.

“We’re here.” Edge informed a few moments later, snapping Sci out of his thoughts. He looked up and smiled at the studio that the Christmas party was being held at, and both he and Edge got out of the car and walked inside, hand-in-hand.

Completely unaware of the chaos that would come.

* * *

“I’m fine.”

“Ink-“

“I’m  _ fine! _ ” He insisted, fighting off the advances of his current caretaker. Core was currently out to get the medicine they had run out of- and with both Dream and Blue busy, Error was the one they had asked to watch him. Because that _totally_ made sense.

It did, he would admit- Error didn’t live far and since it wouldn’t take all that long, it would be a minor inconvenience for Error to watch over Ink.

But he was  _ fine, dang-it! _

Ink stubbornly ignored the uncomfortable and sickly heat that enveloped his sore body, making it a point to not look down at his shaking hands as he forced himself to stand up- slowly, so that the world wouldn’t spin around him. He also did his best to not focus on the smell of his own vomit that hung in the air, knowing that if he did he would dry-heave in an attempt to get out what wasn’t there. 

After he stood up, the coughs that wracked his body would have threatened to make him collapse had Error not pushed him back down again.

“No, Ink.” He said, glaring down at him. Ink glared back with one eye socket squeezed shut, his magic refusing to help him focus his sight. “You’re not going to the party.”

“I am!” He protested, wincing when his own voice made his head throb. Error just looked at him skeptically, but he defiantly tried to stand again.

It was pathetic when a single finger was able to knock him off his balance, sending him tumbling back into bed. 

He closed his eyes when the pain of the movement hurt him too much, but he still weakly fought against Error as the other skeleton slowly positioned his body on the bed, wrapping him up in blankets while simultaneously pinning his arms to his sides as he tucked him in. Ink struggled against it, but he didn’t protest when a cool washcloth was placed upon his burning skull. He hummed slightly, content seeping in and his movements stilling.

It felt really, really nice, he’d admit- temporarily forgetting that he wasn’t supposed to be enjoying this- that he was supposed to be angry.

Mostly, he was just upset that he couldn’t go. He had promised Blue that he would be there to help, but now…

He slowly opened his eye sockets, ignoring how heavy they were as he tilted his head to his left to look up at Error. It took a moment to focus on his face, and when he did he growled.

“Stop looking so smug.” He mumbled as he continued to try and get out of his fluffy, and admittedly comfortable, prison. He was close to freedom too, but Error seemed to realize this and flopped onto Ink’s midsection, effectively pinning him down. “Wha- Hey!”

“What?” Error asked, raising a browbone at him.

“Do you want to get sick?!”

“So you admit to not feeling well?” Ink groaned, but stopped fighting. He hadn’t moved all that much, but he felt exhausted and his stubbornness was the only thing keeping himself awake. Best to save his strength. “Besides, I have double immunity.”

“Double immunity?” Ink asked, staring up at the ceiling. He tried to trace invisible patterns into it, but the mental image of complex, swirling designs hurt his head.

“It’s near impossible for me to get sick, with my glitches and all.” Ink could feel him shrug, and Error’s voice was just low enough for it to  _ almost _ be lulling.

But he wasn’t falling asleep.

Nope. Not doing that. 

He wanted to go to the party, and if he slept then he wouldn’t have a chance at going.

“Add that in with the Flu Shot, and there’s no way I’m ever gonna get sick from taking care of you.” Error continued. “That was foolish of you, by the way, skipping your shot. You know how serious the Flu is, you went on a rant about it last week.”

“I forgot~” He whined, but the moment his voice grew too high he winced and closed his eye sockets. Maybe if he just kept them closed, he’d be able to get enough strength to push Error off and go to the party.

Yeah, that sounded like a good plan.

“I was too caught up with my family.” He continued, reluctantly relaxing into the bed.

“Yeah?” Error asked, and even though his voice was definitely disinterested, Ink kept on talking. Talking would keep him awake, right?

“Yeah… Mom said that she was excited for all her boys to be home. Usually, we’re all too busy with our own things…” He yawned, forgetting why he needed to stay awake as the heavy weight on him urged him to sleep. “Aster and Gaster are… really excited too… and nervous... there's some bad blood..." He took a deep breath. The extra weight on top of him was really comforting. “Wha’ ‘bout… you…?”

“Well-“ Error’s voice was a soft whisper now, and it had a smug edge to it, but for the life of him Ink couldn’t figure out why he’d be smug. “Geno and Fresh will be happy to know that my technique still works. You’d be surprised at how stubborn they can be when it comes to doing things- especially if they’re sick. They don’t have in-built immunity like I do. Can’t tell you how many times I’ve had to do this.”

“Technique?” Ink asked, vaguely aware of what he was saying. “What’re you…?”

“Don’t worry about it.” Error’s voice sounded distant now, although Ink didn’t know why. He didn’t want to question it, either, he was just so… tired. “Just go ahead and sleep. I’ll probably be here when you wake up.”

“... M‘kay…” He mumbled, his brain slowly numbing as his thoughts quieted, allowing him to get the sleep he needed.

* * *

Geno didn't know what to expect when he came to his brother’s studio’s Christmas party, but in his opinion, it was better than the shabby, hardly-worked-on thrown-together party the hospital did every year. He was glad he and Sci had decided to open up their own clinic, and that they had both agreed to not do a staff Christmas party for their first year, but that didn't stop their old coworkers from trying to draw them back in. Idiots.

He looked around with his singular eye-light, taking in the view of all the decorations and few people present. Everyone was dressed in Christmas Sweaters, including himself (despite the fact that the blood would be a pain in the butt to wash out).

“Hello!” A bright, and loud, voice cheered. Geno looked over to his left and saw someone with blue eye lights who was shorter than Geno walk over to greet him properly, his smile bright. “You must be Geno! Error’s talked about you.”

“I am.” He nodded, tilting his head as he tried to figure out who this person was. The last time he and Error had talked (over the phone about two months ago), Error had gone on rant after rant about all of his coworkers. They weren’t so small that Geno would place him as Ink, but they were also far too happy and social to be labeled as Cross. “And you are…?”

“I’m the Magnificent Blue!” The other cheered, reaching over to a table they were by and grabbing a chocolate kiss from it. He offered it to him, eyes shining like stars. “Thank you for coming, would you like a Hershey’s kiss?”

Now, there were a lot of things that happened at that moment.

One was that he had decided on wearing  _ HIS  _ scarf to the party. Which meant that he expected for it to be the only thing to remind him of  _ HIM. _

Secondly, Blue acted just like  _ HE  _ would have had he had the chance to live his life, had his mother adopted them a year or two before she did.

And finally, that Blue hadn’t asked any abrasive or annoying questions about his condition- as well as the fact that he saw no pity in his eye sockets. No sympathy for what he went through (even though Blue might not know of how hard his life had been), just acceptance. Just as  _ HE _ always had.

So, without considering everything that came with his words and actions, and without the logical filter that he  _ ALWAYS _ used no matter what, he grabbed Blue by the hand, tugged him closer, and picked him up flawlessly.

“I’m keeping this one.” He said, ignoring the glare coming at him from across the room and the confused sputtering of the person in his hold. It was official now, anyway. There would be no stopping him now. Best to press forward and see where the night would take this.

* * *

“This is stupid,” Fell grumbled as he sulked in a corner. Papyrus, who he had met as a worthy teammate for an online RPG game that he liked to play in his spare time. He watched as the skeleton with an eye patch picked up their host, and he was silently amused at how tense Stretch was. He was definitely protective of his older brother, wasn’t he?

“Oh, it’s not that stupid, Fell,” Papyrus responded as he walked over with a plate and some cookies from a nearby table. “I’m sure the party will pick up once more people come. It’s only just started.”

“Yeah, cut by bro some slack.” Stretch sighed, lazing back in the chair he had found and only  _ just _ avoiding a very unpleasant fall to the floor. Fell glared down at him. “He worked hard to make this happen.”

“... I  _ suppose _ that that’s the least I can do.” He grumbled as the door opened again, allowing more guests in. “How many more people are expected to show up?”

“Well, Dream’s celebrating with his brother, Cross’ spending the day with Frisk, Epic had to go to a different party, and Blue invited everyone he could, so who knows. Minimum of-“ Papyrus glances up, counting to himself. “Eight People.”

“Oh joy.” Fell drawled, grabbing his water bottle and drinking out of it. There was no way he was going to be caught drunk, just in case someone decided to do that. He stopped halfway through, carefully concealing his shock as his eyes landed upon someone he didn’t think he’d see again.

His older brother stared back, his two white eye lights instantly switching into a singular red one.

…

Well, this was going to be interesting.


	2. Spiked Egg Nog

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Edge isn't happy, and Sans' coworkers are idiots.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Is it weird that when I started writing this I unintentionally shipped Geno and Blue together, even though I like Afterdeath and Blue being single more?
> 
> Probably.
> 
> Oh well, who knows what's going to happen X'DDDDD
> 
> I hope you enjoy!

Edge was not happy about this.

Not one bit.

“Uhh… Edge?”

_ How? _

“Edge?”

How had his brother managed to find him here?! 

“Edge~?”

It was an unwritten rule that after the ‘game’ you wouldn’t seek anyone out, so WHY?!

“Edge, babe, your grip is really tight.”

“Huh?” Edge snapped out of the staring contest he had with Fell, looking back over to Sci. He looked down, and sure enough, he was holding onto Sci’s hand tightly. He let it go with a blush. “Oops, sorry.”

“Are you okay?” Sci asked not even seconds later, looking him in the eye sockets. He reached his hands up and cupped Edge’s face. “Is something wrong? You’re magic’s activated.”

In all honesty, the only thing that Edge could actually think was ‘I have to keep Sci away from Fell’.

So he did the only thing he could think of.

“Yeah, I’m fine- jus’ thought of somethin’.” He brushed off, gently placing his hands on top of Sci’s. He took one of them off of his face and kissed his boyfriend’s knuckles, not daring to glance at where Fell was. Then he jerked his head to the side a little to distract him further. “Isn’ that ya coworker Geno over there? Any idea why he’d be holdin’ Blue like that?”

Sci looked over at where Edge was talking about, the distraction had worked this time. “Yeah, it is, and that’s a very good question.” Taking their intertwined hands, Edge let Sci lead him away while sneaking a glance at Fell again. He was still watching them, and Edge let his hold on Sci’s hand get only the slightest bit tighter.

There was  _ no way _ he’d  _ ever _ let Fell get close to Sci during this Christmas party.

He’d make sure of it.

“Hey, Geno!” Sci called out, gaining the other Doctor’s attention. “Didn't realize this was the party your brother invited you to. Where is he?”

“Error said that he’d be here soon, and Fresh said that he’s running late,” Geno replied promptly, turning to look at them. “This must be the work party Edge was bringing you to then, yes?”

“Yep!” Edge winked to lighten the mood for everyone else and distract them from his glowing singular eye. “Though, I have ta know- why are ya carryin’ Blue?”

“Hello!” Blue said from above them. “This has been, uh, fun and all, but I’d like to get down!”

“I’m keeping him,” Geno answered simply, making both Edge and Sci sweatdrop. “Is there something wrong with that?”

“You- You can’t keep other people, Geno.” Sci reasoned. “It breaks a lot of laws, you’d have your medical licenses revoked, you’d probably be thrown in jail, and I’m pretty sure his brother is ready to fight for him.”

“I can beat him.”

“I’d actually appreciate it if you didn't fight my brother.”

“Geno, please.” Sci tugged at his friend’s arm. “We only just got our Clinic off the ground last year, and I’d rather not have to close it down because my coworker decided that they were going to unofficially adopt a sibling.”

“...” Geno mulled over the information thoughtfully. “I  _ suppose _ that _would_ be counter-productive, wouldn’t it?” He looked up at Blue with a strange look in his eye sockets. “Would you like to meet up after the party?”

“Uhhhh…” Blue blinked a few times. “Yes?”

“Great.” Geno put Blue down, patting his head. “I’ll give you my phone number.”

“...” Slowly, Blue turned around to look at Sci and Edge. “... I can’t tell if he’s asking me out or not.”

“Just go with it.” Sci sighed, taking his glasses off and wiping them on his shirt. “He’s like this with people he wants to be friends with, although he’s not normally that touchy. You probably reminded him of something really good in his life to get that kind of a reaction.”

“Oh!” Stars appeared in Blue’s eyes. “I always love making new friends! And you must be Sci, right?”

“Yup!” Sci smirked and kissed Edge on the cheek, making his splutter. “I’m this edgy-boy’s boyfriend.”

“It’s nice to meet you!” Blue shook Sci’s hand and then turned around while pulling out his phone so that he could get Geno’s number. “Why don’t you two go ahead and socialize with the others? Not everyone who can be here is here yet, so it might take a bit before it gets into full swing. Oh! And the Egg Nog is really good!”

“Thanks!” Edge nodded, forcing the blush off of his face as he led Sci to the table with the Egg Nog, stubbornly ignoring looking at the other three people in the room. “Let’s get something to drink, Nerd.”

“You don’t want to say hi to everyone else?” Sci asked, tilting his head in confusion.

“No, actually- I think we should wait until more people arrive.” Edge grabbed two cups for them and poured them both some Egg Nog, sparing a glance over his shoulder when he knew Sci wasn’t looking.

Fell was still staring at him.

He looked back at Sci and watched as he took a drink of his Egg Nog, absently lifting his own cup up to his mouth to drink from it. He was going to have to talk to his brother, and also keep Sci away from Fell as far as he could possibly achieve before his behavior was labeled as ‘suspicious’.

It was a good thing he was used to having to wing it.

Not long after that though, Blue walked back over to them. A quick glance at Geno told Edge that Sans had collected his attention for now.

“You didn't want to socialize?” He asked, a little confused.

“We were gonna wait for more people to arrive.” Edge replied, a bit uncomfortable. He didn't think that Blue was aware of the fact that Fell was his brother- actually, the chances that no one was aware of the relationship outside of himself and Fell was zero to none. It let him relax, just the tiniest bit. 

“Who all is coming, anyway?” Sci asked as he took another sip from his cup.

“Well,” Blue hummed. “Geno, Stretch, Sans, Papyrus, Fell, and you two are here. Core will be able to stop by for a bit, but they’re planning on staying with Ink.”

“Ink?” Edge asked, confused. “What’s up with ‘im?”

“He’s gotten sick with the flu.” Blue huffed a little. “He completely forgot to get his shots this year, and since I’m in charge of the party and Dream’s off celebrating with his brother, Core volunteered to watch over him. Last I heard, they asked Error to look over him while they go to the store to get some medicine. They said something about stopping by on their way here to check on how things are going before relieving him from duty. Fresh said something about being a little late, and Cross is spending the day with his brother. Reaper hasn’t gotten back on whether he’s coming or not, either.” 

“Aw, poor Ink.” Sci hummed. “The Flu is  no laughing matter. How bad has it been?”

“Core hasn’t said anything about it- we’ll probably get more information when they arrive, or when Error’s relieved.” He shrugged, his smile growing wider. “So, how do you guys like the Egg Nog?”

“It’s good!” Sci smiled a little brighter before frowning. “It tastes off though.”

“It does?” Blue asked, a little shocked. “That’s funny. It tasted just fine when I had some before.” Edge frowned and took another sip, but he almost spit it back out when he realized that not only was it  _ definitely _ spiked, but that Fell had gotten up and was walking  _ right towards them. _

“O-Oh, yeah, it is.” He said, internally fumbling around as he tried to figure out what to do next. He didn't want Fell to confront him with Sci around! Taking another quick glance around the room, his eye light landed on Geno and Sans. He jerked his thumb at them, smiling down at Sci so that he, hopefully, wouldn’t think anything of his odd behavior. “Why don’t ya go an’ talk to Geno an' Sans ‘bout it? They’ll probably know what’s up if you get them their own cups, too.”

“Oh! Great idea!” Blue cheered, reaching for two cups while glancing at Edge almost worriedly. He had probably caught on to Edge’s odd behavior, but Edge didn't care so long as Sci was fooled. It didn't look like he believed Edge’s act either, much to his frustration. Thankfully, Blue seemed to be aware that he wanted them to leave and talk for a bit. “Come on, Sci! Let’s go!”

“Edge-”

“I’ll be fine, nerd.” He gave Sci a subtle kiss on the cheek. “When ya figure out what’s goin’ on tell me, ‘kay?”

“... Okay.” Sci eventually said, and he gave Edge a soft kiss on the teeth. “I’ll be back soon.”

With the two of them walking off and joining in the conversation with Geno and Sans, Edge breathed a small sigh of relief, downed the whole cup of spiked Egg Nog in one go, and then glared up at his younger brother.

“What do you want?” He asked, his magic flaring just a little bit.

“I’m wondering why you’re here,” Fell responded with his own glare, folding his arms.

“I’m here ‘cause I was invited.” He growled, purposefully making his answer vague. He almost smirked when he saw his brother’s temper rise up a little, but he didn't want to push it too far, so he continued. “Why are you here?”

“I’m an online ally with Papyrus.” Fell gestured with his head over his shoulder, where Papyrus and Stretch were talking. “He invited me once he and his brother were invited.”

“Online ally?” Edge scoffed a little. “So you continued to play that game?”

“Of course I have.” Fell bristled. “It’s the perfect place to practice invasive strategies.”

“If ya say so.” He shrugged, a little relaxed now knowing that he hadn’t been actively sought out, but still on edge. “Look, jus’- stay away from me, okay? No one’s supposed ta meet up after a game, you know that.”

“I do.” Fell acknowledged with a hum. “But I was curious as to if the person who you walked in with was-”

“I don’t have to tell ya ship!” Edge exclaimed, and then he glanced around. 

_ Screw it.  _

He poured himself another cup of Egg Nog, glaring up at his ex-boss defiantly. “I don’t have to tell ya anythin’, an’ ya sure as heck better not try ta pry into my life! I’ve been doin’ jus’ fine, an’ I don’t need  _ it _ comin’ back ta haunt me.” Then, with an elegantly raised middle finger in replacement for a good-bye, he stomped off to a different corner of the room- away from Fell and Sci.

He needed to calm down before he went back to Sci. He didn't want to accidentally snap at his boyfriend after all.

* * *

“Well, if you take the Adverse theorem and-"

"Hey, Sans, Geno-” Sci cut into their conversation, gaining both Sans’ and Geno’s attention. “There’s something weird going on with the Egg Nog Blue made, and we were hoping you guys could help us figure it out?”

“Sure.” Sans shrugged, accepting the cup Blue offered him and taking a sip. Instantly, he knew that it was spiked, and it surprised him that Sci hadn’t figured it out for himself. He was a  _ doctor _ , for heaven's sake, and Sans was only the receptionist at his and Geno’s Clinic! Surely one of them would be able to tell!

But when Geno (who  _ always _ and  _ without fail _ avoided alcoholic drinks) took a sip, paused, and then downed the whole thing in one go, Sans couldn’t help but think that his two coworkers were absolute  _ idiots _ .

“I don’t see anything wrong with it.” Geno admitted, looking at the wall across from him as he thought. “It certainly didn't taste like the kind we usually drink, but it tasted  _ really _ good.” He paused, looked down at his cup, and then walked away. “I’m going to get more.”

“Huh.” Sci looked down at his own cup and then over at Sans, who was still trying to process just how ironic this was. “What about you, Sans?”

Sans looked away from Geno’s retreating figure and over at Sci, and then he looked next to him to look at Blue.

…

…

That smile was  _ far _ too wide for it to be innocent.

So he facepalmed.

“Sans?” Sci asked, concerned as Sans started to pray for  _ some _ kind of deity to make sure that the building wouldn’t burn down by the end of the night. “Sans, what’s wrong?”

“Look, kid-” He sighed as Geno walked back with the Egg Nog and a chocolate chip cookie. “I dunno  _ how _ you two missed it, but… it’s spiked.”

“Spiked?” 

“Yeah, as in, you know, alcoholic?”

_ Finally _ , recognition sparked in Sci’s eyes, and Sans had never been more relieved in his life.

“Oh.” A pause.  _ “Oh!” _ He looked down at his drink and then looked over at Geno to see what his reaction was, almost apologetically. They both knew how much effort Geno put into staying away from the stuff, and Sci had just accidentally tricked him into drinking some. “Sorry Geno, I don’t know how I didn't realize that it was spiked!”

Geno, however, didn't answer. He stared at them all for a while, his face unreadable and untelling of the thoughts that were going through his head.

And then, while looking them in the eye and without hesitation, he lifted the cup up to his mouth and downed it all in one go.

It was probably the biggest ‘screw you’ Sans had ever seen from him, and that was saying  _ a lot _ , because Geno already did that on a regular basis to just about everyone he met.

Silently, Sans sighed and admitted to himself that it was going to be a very,  _ very _ long night.


	3. Five Hours Late

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which the author couldn't come up with what would happen next at the actual party, so she decided to throw in some angst instead.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey hey hey, look at what's coming back! :D
> 
> I hope you enjoy!

_ Ring…  _

_ Ring…  _

_ Ring…  _

_ Ring…  _

_ Click. _

_ “Hello, this is Nightmare Joku, please leave a message after the beep.” _

_ Beep! _

“H… Hey, Nightlight.” Dream swallowed nervously, glancing around. He knew his brother didn't like being called that anymore, and he remembered it a second too late. “I- sorry, I meant Nightmare! Ugh, I’m such an idiot…” He lightly facepalmed before slowly looking up at the dark sky above him, stars vacant from the cloudy sky. That had been his first slip-up on his brother’s name in  _ years.  _

“Look, I… I know that December has always been a hard time for you, but we-we agreed that we’d meet up at the park today. About…” He looked down at his watch. “... Five hours ago…” He shook his head. “And I understand if you don’t want to meet up anymore, but… I just- I was really looking forward to spending the day with you because we really don’t hang out as much as we used to and I miss what we used to have, and-”

_ Click. _

Dream’s hold on his phone shook when it stopped recording. Slowly, he brought it away from his skull to look at the screen full of various texts and calls he had sent Nightmare over the past five hours. His vision was already blurring, but he found that he didn't actually care anymore.

_ How? _

_ How had it come to this? _

He lifted his feet up from the snowy ground and onto the bench he sat on so that he could tuck them close to his chest, burying his face into his knees as he wrapped his arms around himself. Small, quiet sobs managed to escape, but he did his best not to let them out- even as the tears slowly fell down his cheeks.

He just wanted to talk to his brother. At least one more time- figure out what it was that he had done wrong, and see if there was anything that he could do to fix it.

“Dream?” 

Dream sniffed, looking up just enough so that he could peek over his legs and see who it was. Cross was standing there, with a dark-haired human that he could only assume was his older brother Frisk. He let a small, shaky smile come onto his face, lifting up a hand to wipe the tears away.

“O-Oh, Hi Cross.” He said, slowly letting his feet fall as he tried to look okay. “Is this your brother? Frisk?”

“Yeah, I’m Frisk.” He smiled down at Dream, offering his hand to him. “It’s nice to meet you.”

“Nice to meet you too.” Dream happily shook his hand. “What are you guys doing?”

“We’re just walking around.” Cross shrugged. “I didn't go to the family Christmas party last week, but I at least wanted to spend some time with Frisk, and the only time we could do that was now.” He frowned, stepping closer. “Are you okay? You were crying.”

“Oh!” He gave an awkward laugh, his eye sockets stinging as he tried to fight off tears at the reminder. “Yeah, I’m- I’m okay.”

Now Cross was scowling at him. “No, you’re not. What’s wrong?”

“I-”

“And don’t try to convince me otherwise.”

Dream paused, the words ‘I really am fine’ on the tip of his tongue. He swallowed them back down and took a few moments to collect his thoughts. He glanced between the two of them before looking away, his words stuck in his throat. He opened his mouth a few times, attempting to voice his feelings, but in the end, the only thing that came out of it was more tears. Stubbornly, he rubbed them out of his eye sockets, but they were replaced the moment he moved his hand.

He didn't know when Cross and Frisk had moved, but suddenly they were both sitting next to him. Cross was rubbing his back soothingly, and when what was going on clicked in his head, he hiccupped.

“Sorry!” He cried, shaking his head as he continued to rub the tears away. _ “Sorry! _ I-I just-”

“Hey, there’s no need to apologize.” Cross soothed, scooting in a little closer and hugging Dream close. “It’s okay.”

“Yeah.” Frisk leaned in too, hesitantly hugging Dream as well.

“S-Still.” Dream shook his head. “It’s- It’s not that bad. N-Not really, I’m just… be-being stupid.”

“Oh, don’t say that.” Cross flicked Dream’s shoulder, only managing to get a small smile. “If it’s what you’re feeling then it’s not stupid. You feel what you feel, and you’re feeling it for a reason- even if it might feel silly for you to feel it.”

“Oh? Is that Chara’s advice? Coming out of your mouth?”

“Shut up, Frisk.” Cross flipped his middle finger at his older brother. “So what if I am?”

“Now I can tell you ‘I told you so’.”

“No, you can’t. You’re not Chara, idiot.”

“Well, I  _ could  _ take up Chara’s job and do the after-feels-noogies.” Frisk snickered. “You know, just for old times sake!”

“If you do that then that means that I get to call you Frisky.”

“Oh, come on! That nickname died out the moment I got to High School!”

“It will  _ never _ die out.” It was Cross’ turn to snicker, and he wiggled his brow bones at Frisk. “Frisky.”

“Why you-!”

Dream couldn’t help it. He started laughing. He leaned forward, wrapping his arms around himself as he laughed and laughed, even as he cried. Soon, Cross and Frisk joined in, and it was a few minutes later before their laughs finally started to die down.

“Thanks.” He said after a few moments of silence, sniffing and rubbing the last tears off of his cheeks. “I… really needed that.”

“Of course.” Cross gave him a tight hug. “Do you want to talk about it?”

“Well…” Dream hesitated, looking down at his hands as he fiddled with them. “I’m supposed to be meeting up with my brother Nightmare today.”

“Oh?” 

“Yeah.” He nodded. “But… we were supposed to meet up five hours ago, and-and he hasn’t been responding to any of my texts or calls.” Dream shook his head, forcing a smile onto his face. “That’s okay though! Really! Maybe he just got AM and PM mixed up again!”

“Dream…”

“He’ll show up eventually.” Dream replied sternly, but even he wasn’t sure if he believed those words or not. “I-I just have to keep on waiting. Maybe his phone’s been dead all day, or maybe he got caught up in something else. Maybe-” There was a sudden touch to his cheek, warmer than anything he had felt since he first came out here.

“You’re freezing,” Cross commented, his frown deep. The look in his eyelights was very stern as he looked over Dream, and he could feel an equally warm and curious touch to his skull from Frisk. Dream swallowed, and shortly after that Cross grabbed his hand and stood up, tugging on it gently. “Come on. If your brother is going to ditch you without warning then you can spend the rest of the afternoon with us.” He looked over at his brother. “Right, Frisk?”

“You don’t have to-” Dream tried to argue as Frisk nodded. “I don’t want to impose! I’ll be okay! I promise! You know that I can take care of myself.”

Cross huffed, letting go of Dream’s hand, and Dream relaxed a little. “Fine. If that’s how you want to be.” Suddenly he smirked, and the next thing he knew, Cross was picking him up and throwing Dream over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. “I’ll just have to do this then.”

“Wha- Cross!” Dream exclaimed, squirming around. “Put me down!”

“Sorry.” Frisk gave him a smile that was hardly apologetic as he followed Cross, taking off his beanie and tucking it onto Dream’s skull. The change in temperature sent a shiver up his spine. “But no can do! You’re stuck with us now.”

Dream pouted a little, huffing. Eventually, he relaxed and let a small smile come to his face when Cross finally put him down in front of a Subway restaurant, with Frisk opening the door to let them inside.

He really hoped Nightmare was doing okay.

* * *

Nightmare ignored the phone that was going off in his pocket, grumpily allowing the cats to climb over him and play with his goop.

He knew who was calling him. He knew that he had agreed to come too.

But he was so…  _ angry _ at Dream. Too angry for him to meet up with his brother and be civilized.

He took a sip from his hot cocoa- the third one he had had that day- and let out a long sigh.

It was better this way. And Ccinco wasn’t  _ that _ bad of company. Nor were the cats, even if they were annoying.

The coffee shop was relatively empty, despite how late it was in the day for the time of the year. The smell of coffee was strong in  _ just _ the right way, and with his corner seat, Nightmare had enough privacy to do whatever he so wished.

Slowly, he allowed his fingers to trail through the fur of the cat that rested on his lap, his thoughts wandering as he sat in cozy silence. Several minutes later, he was jolted out of his thoughts by a message from his work phone. He huffed, pulling it out of his pocket and wondering who it was who  _ dared _ to bother him on his day off. Dust? Horror? Killer?

Instead, a number that he hadn’t seen in quite some time popped up, the words in the message making his soul squeeze in a way that he hated.

_ *Just because you’re mad at something he doesn’t know he did, doesn’t mean that you can leave him in the cold for five hours. _

_ *The least you could have done was tell him that you weren’t coming if you couldn’t build up the guts to talk to him about it, much less be civil with him. _

Gritting his teeth, he stubbornly shoved his phone back into his pocket.

He didn't want to think about it. Any of it.

He eased the cats off, slowly easing up and leaving his money and a large tip on the table beside him. Then he trudged towards the doors of the shop, not even giving Ccinco a good-bye as he walked out into the cold and frigid air.

_ ‘I need a drink.’ _ He thought as he walked down the sidewalk, glaring at anyone and anything that got in his path.


End file.
